Not to Palomares, but to Calarreona

Mileage: 163350

Yesterday, we made a plan for today.

We wanted to first visit Mesa Roldán, see the lighthouse and the old observation tower, and then continue to a campsite near Palomares.

However, in a review of the campsite in Palomares, we read something alarming that prompted us to search for another campsite a few kilometers further north. On January 17, 1966, a nuclear accident involving atomic weapons occurred near the village. A fully armed B52 bomber from the US Air Force collided with a refueling plane during air refueling, causing both aircraft to crash. Although safety mechanisms prevented a thermonuclear explosion of the hydrogen bombs, the conventional explosives of two of the bombs exploded, contaminating an area of several hectares with Plutonium-239. Since secrecy was paramount during the Cold War, the incident remained largely unknown, and after some decontamination, the land was again approved for food cultivation. It was not until 2007 (more than 40 years later) that the most heavily contaminated areas were fenced off and closed. Had one of the bombs detonated, it would have unleashed about 100 times the explosive power of Little Boy - the Hiroshima bomb - pretty spooky ...

So we decided on a spot near Calarreona just before Águilas and wanted to reach this in the afternoon.

We drove only a few minutes to the parking lot at the foot of the mesa Mesa Roldán and parked Gary there. The last 1.5 km were very steep switchbacks that we might have managed with the old car, but perhaps not. We spared Gary the test and walked. After just a few steps, a very beautiful hiking trail branched off from the road, leading around the mesa and providing us with a series of stunning views and photos. Upon reaching the top, we first visited the Torre, which served as a backdrop in Game of Thrones, and then walked over to the lighthouse to take some photos. Along the way, we could also take a look into the caldera of the old volcano, where a green plain had formed. Since it was very windy, we had to tuck our hats under our jackets to prevent them from flying away. Rain was in the forecast, and the clouds were moving quickly, so we wanted to get down from the mountain promptly and took the road back to the parking lot.

On the drive to Calarreona, we encountered intermittent rain, sometimes more, sometimes less. We reached the campsite, which was located right next to a gas station, after stopping at the supermarket to replenish our completely empty food supplies. With the final kilometers, we left the vast region of Andalusia and were now in Murcia.

In the evening, it really started to rain, and we only took a short stroll around the site to get the Wi-Fi password from the gas station attendant.

Ines was chopping vegetables for a salad, and Sebb was attempting the cheese croquettes that we had bought today. After dinner, we stayed on the couch tonight; it was just too wet outside, and it was dark as well.